In Brief

Overview

In 2017, Matt celebrated his 32nd anniversary at Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Product Liability Defense Lawyers, Matt is identified in various other publications as a top lawyer in his field.

One of his areas of focus is the preparation and defense of a number of corporate witnesses in national product liability cases. Matt has prepared and defended 51 company witnesses for depositions in five MDL proceedings over the past 30 years. In addition to this work, Matt has published seven articles in national publications on this topic, and most recently organized a panel on the subject at the mid-year meeting of the International Association of Defense Counsel in La Quinta, California.

Matt has been an active member of various bar organizations over his career, including the Kansas Bar Association and International Association of Defense Counsel, and serves on the Board of Legal Aid of Western Missouri.

Matt served as chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee for eight years, and his pro bono efforts have been featured in the Kansas City Star in two stories (January 2, 2010, and March 1, 2015), celebrating Shook's role in facilitating adoptions. Matt has also been quoted in Working Mother magazine.

Representative Jury Trials

Matt has tried 14 jury trials to verdict in state and federal courts, as either first or second chair, in the following states: Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Presenter, Preparing a Corporate Witness for Deposition – Perspectives from a Corporate Witness and from Defense Counsel, International Association of Defense Counsel Mid-Year Meeting, February 14, 2018.

Panel Chair, Civility and Professionalism, June 2012. Panel composed entirely of military veterans, including two attorneys who served the country in WWII, one who served in Korea, and another who had distinguished service in Vietnam.